Journey to the Other Universe
by Knight of Sapphire
Summary: A Suikoden x Kingdom Hearts fic. The universe where Sora and his friends live is in a state of chaos. The Gate Rune has agreed to send help, but at what cost?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

_Today I have met someone very intriguing. That 'someone' was none other than the door which I had come across during my endless wandering in search of a way to escape this forsaken world._

_At first glance, it was a very old door, large and ancient looking. At the center of its structure there was a queer-looking pattern – a magic glyph. When I discovered this, I felt excited beyond measure. I thought I had finally found the way out._

_But no matter how hard I pushed, the door would not open. I had pushed, and pushed and pushed even harder with every ounce of sheer strength I could muster. Still it would not move. Finally, after half an hour had passed, I gave up. _

_I had stood there, glaring at the door. "Open!" I shouted. "I, Ansem the Wise, demand you to open at once!" My attempts were futile. Without the power of the keyblade, no door can be opened by one's will._

"_Your name?" a voice, neither male nor female, had said suddenly._

"_Who's there?!" I had looked around, but there was nothing in this world to look at. Finally, my eyes rested on the door, and I had then realized who had spoken to me._

"_Your name?" the door had said again. It wasn't a request, but a command._

"_My name is Ansem. And you are?"_

"_I am known as the Gate Rune, one of the 27 True Runes of my world," the door replied coolly. There was a vast powerful quality in its voice, and I immediately knew I was speaking to a god._

"_Pardon me, Oh Great One," I remember saying. "I know this may sound rude of me, but could you help me escape from this world? I was imprisoned here long ago and I would very much like to go back home."_

"_I cannot interfere with the affairs of this universe," the door said. "I am only here as an observer."_

_My hopes had fell. "Universe? I'm afraid I don't quite understand you." _

"_The universe in which our world resides in. Our Mother, who was once called Darkness."_

_I remember falling to my knees at the time. "Then all hope is lost. Xehanort has won."_

"_I never said I would not help you," the door had said, amusement present in its voice. "You wish to save your world and many others. If that is the case, then I can send you help."_

_The offer was too good to be true. However, I could not help but feel suspicious towards the door's generosity. "At what price?" I had asked._

"_You know how to bargain well, I see," the door observed. "Very well. The information concerning the price will be given to you when the time comes. Beware, mortal. Should you break our bargain, I shall hand over your body and soul to my brother and sister, the Rune of Life and Death and the Rune of Punishment. They will take great pleasure in handling your fate from then on." _

_The door's warning was no laughing matter; that much I knew. "I promise, Great One," I had said, bowing low._

"_The deal is sealed. Now, I must speak with my brothers and sisters. They will need to know of our bargain if they wish to lend their assistance." After that, the voice had gone._

_It has been a few hours since I've spoken to the door. I have nothing left to do but to wait. Wait. Wait. Wait._

**- Extract from the diary of Ansem during his imprisonment in the World of Nothingness.**

* * *

The pain in his hand woke him. Hugo sat up abruptly in his bed, his mind in a state of utter panic. The hand that was in pain was the one that bore the True Flame Rune. _What's happening to me?! _he thought fearfully.

Suddenly, a strange light appeared in the middle of his bedroom. The light flashed once, and then it disappeared. In this place there stood a long, black haired woman clad in white.

"Who are you?" Hugo demanded. The pain in his hand was still hurting. His other hand reached for his dagger next to the bed.

The woman did not answer. The expression on her face was strangely unfocused, as if she was in a trance. "The True Fire Rune has agreed to send assistance. I shall now transport your consciousness to the other world."

"Consciousness? What do you—" his voice trailed off. The bright symbol of a rune appeared on the woman's chest, and the brilliant light that had appeared in his room a few moments ago had returned. "Good luck, young one," the woman said kindly.

There was a blinding flash. Hugo fell back to his bed. Darkness clouded over his vision as he felt his consciousness slipping away. Then his eyes closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.

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**Comments from Author:**

**Short prologue, I know. But aren't some prologues short? Enjoy the story, everyone! Oh, and I do not own Suikoden and Kingdom Hearts. But I do own this fic.**

**P.S. The World of Nothingness is NOT the World of Emptiness. They're two different worlds and have abosolutely nothing to do with each other. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

"Wake up!" someone, a girl's voice, said. "It's morning time!"

Riou groaned as he shifted his sleeping position, his eyes still closed shut. The bed he was on was strangely comfortable "Five more minutes, Nanami."

"Nanami? I'm not Nanami, silly."

"Let me handle this, Yuffie," a male voice said. "Riou, wake up." A pair of hands shook him by the shoulders. "It's me, Jowy. You have to wake up."

"Right now?"Riou said drowsily. He sat up, yawned, and rubbed his eyes. "What's going on?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Riou put his hands down and opened his eyes. He frowned.

The room he was in was nothing like the room of the inn where he had fallen asleep the night before. Almost every piece of furniture in the room was red in color: the tables, chairs, carpets, draperies, the door and even some parts of the walls. Large scrolls and chinaware were hung everywhere. The unique design of the room reminded Riou of traditional architecture of the town of Lelcar in the Queendom of Falena.

"Where are we?" he asked at last, unable to believe his eyes.

Jowy was sitting on a chair next to the bed. A tall young man with long darkish blonde hair tied in a ponytail; he wore a sleeveless blue shirt, a pair of white pants with a yellow sash wrapped around his waist, and leather-boots. He shrugged. "We're in Traverse Town; at least that's what Aerith told me."

"Traverse Town?"

"Yup! You're in Traverse Town alright!" The speaker was a young woman with short black hair and a happy-go-lucky face. Her clothes had the designs of a ninja outfit, but they were more – Riou couldn't think up of any other words to fit the description of her clothing – trendy and stylish, the type of clothing that would've made a female ninja proud. "The name's Yuffie by the way," she said with a cheerful smile.

Riou didn't know what else to say. "Ahh…hi?" He felt like an idiot for saying that.

Yuffie laughed, making him blush.

"How did we get here?" Riou asked, trying to forget what he said earlier. "I could've sworn we were sleeping in the inn in Yashuna Village. Did someone drug us before carrying us away?"

Jowy stared at him. "You don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

Jowy sighed. "In the middle of the night," he said, "after we all fell asleep in the inn, someone came to visit us."

Suddenly Riou remembered. A mysterious-looking woman had suddenly appeared in their bedroom the night before. He and Jowy were awake at the time, except for Nanami, who was still sleeping like a baby. Riou remembered being woken up by the strange pain in his hand during that night. It didn't take long for him to notice that Jowy was also awake and experiencing the same pain as well. When their eyes had met, they immediately knew what was causing their pain. Their runes were calling out to something…or someone.

_I shall transport your consciousness to the other world…_

It was Leknaat. She was the woman who had visited them in the middle of the night, Riou realized. She didn't look like herself, though. During those few times when she spoke to him in the Dunan Unification War, she had been fully awake, alive and well-looking. However, when she had visited them last night, she looked as though she was in a trance. _And her voice_, Riou thought, _it sounded a whole lot different. It wasn't hers at all._ _What happened to her?_

"Look at your right hand," Jowy told him.

Riou looked, and then he gasped in shock. The glyph of the Bright Shield Rune was gone. _"But that's impossible!" _he thought fearfully. "_How?!" _Raising his shaking hand, Riou's trembling lips spoke. "Great Blessing."

Nothing happened. The spell didn't work…not without the Bright Shield Rune.

"My Black Sword Rune is gone too," Jowy said, showing Riou his right hand. "Our runes…they've disappeared…" There was confusion in his friend's voice…and also fear…

_What's happening? Where are we? Where are our runes? _Endless questions flowed through Riou's mind like a fast current. His heart was beating wildly; his head full of confusion. He didn't know what to do.

'_Don't give up, Riou!'_

That was what Nanami used to say whenever he felt helpless, especially during those times when he had led the Allied Army. No doubt she would say those words to him now if she saw him like this.

_Nanami…_

He looked up at Yuffie, then at Jowy. "Where's Nanami?"

Jowy hesitated. "She wasn't with us when I woke."

"Yuffie?"

The look the young woman gave him was grave. "You and Jowy were the only ones we found. I'm sorry, but there was no Nanami…"

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Tir could feel his lungs getting heavier and heavier as he ran quickly through the forest full of bamboo trees. Not far behind him was a small army of ominous black-creatures with large yellow eyes. Even though his chasers were only half his size, his main concern was their sharp-claws. There was no way he could face off that many enemies, not without his weapon. His hand-to-hand combat skills were adequate, but not enough to defeat them – that much he knew.

Suddenly, seven to ten black-creatures jumped down from under the trees in front of him. Tir stopped running.

He was surrounded.

"Damn it…" Tir looked at his hand, the same hand that once held the Rune of Life and Death. After he had woken up and found himself in this strange country, his True Rune had gone, disappeared, vanished; something that was known to be impossible to happen unless the bearer died.

Six black-creatures leaped at him, their sharp-claws extended, ready to slice. Tir shut his eyes.

_No…not yet…I can't give up yet!_

He felt something in his hand. He glanced down to look.

It was a sword.

Without thinking, he swung the sword at the attacking creatures. They were killed instantly, their bodies dissolving into black-dust afterwards. More creatures leaped at him, but he was too quick. With a blood-curling battle-cry, he slashed at the creatures. Each and every one of them fell by his sword. Before long, not one of his chasers was left standing.

Once he had finished slaying the last of the creatures, Tir lowered down the sword and took a deep breath. He exhaled, and felt the weight of his body becoming lighter. He then glanced down at the weapon that had just saved his life.

He was astonished by what he saw. For one thing, the sword possessed no actual blade. It looked more like a giant key than a weapon. The sword was dark in color; so dark that you couldn't even see light reflecting from it. The hilt-guard was comprised of two demonic wings. At the center of the shaft was a black orb with a familiar-looking symbol in it. Tir gasped when he recognized the symbol.

It was the symbol of the Rune of Life and Death…

Tir's hand was trembling. _This has to be a dream_, he thought. He shook his head, trying to make sense of what was happening to him. _There has to be an explanation. I just know it._

"Tir!"

A black-haired young man came running to him. "Where were you?" he said, stopping to catch his breath. "I've been looking all over for you." He noticed the sword in Tir's hand. "Where did you get that?"

"This? A traveler sold it to me a while ago," Tir lied. "He said he really needed the money."

"Whatever. We have to go back to the village. The Emperor's recruitment force is here!"

"Recruitment force?"

"Yeah. There's a war going on somewhere and the Emperor expects every single man in China to join the army. Hurry up, let's go!" The young man left, not bothering to turn around to see if Tir was following.

Tir frowned. This was no time for him to join the Emperor's army and fight a battle somewhere in a land so unfamiliar to him. Not until he found out what had happened to him and why he came to be in this country. Furthermore, he had never heard of a country called China before. Even stranger, none of the residents of the village he was staying in knew of the Toran Republic, the Queendom of Falena, The Dunan Republic, or even the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia. When he asked them about these countries, they all looked at him as if he was mental.

_It's true then. I really am in another world_, Tir thought, recalling the night when Leknaat had visited him after he had woken up by a strange pain in his hand where the True Rune was held. _There has to be a reason for me being here. But what? _

Tir shook his head. This was no time for him to be asking questions. Someone from the village might come looking for him any moment now. And if that happens, he would be dragged into joining the Emperor's army. He couldn't let that happen.

Tir glanced at the direction of the village, but he could see nothing but endless rows of bamboo trees. The village was still far ahead. Without looking back, Tir skidded through the forest at the opposite direction away from the village, never to go back there ever again.

His adventure, and as well as many others, had begun…

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**Words from the Author:**

**Another short chapter, I know. But there's a reason behind this, so please bear with me. Thank for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


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